Five Star Memoirs

I have never been a big nonfiction/memoir person. I'm not sure why, but it has never been a genre I’ve gravitated toward. All that changed last year when I finally picked up EDUCATED (a true #bookstagrammademedoit moment) and I’ve never looked back. Featured in this post are four books that I’ll keep on my shelf forever. Each showed me resilience, perseverance, and determination to live their truths. Each offered me comfort that my own struggles are worth fighting through. Each reminded me that life is fragile, and our minds and bodies are sacred. Thank you Tara, Chanel, Bryan, and Trevor. ⠀
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Here are my reviews for each of these books:

EDUCATED by Tara Westover
Educated by Tara Westover is more than a book or memoir, it’s an odyssey. It’s a triumphant, beautiful, challenging, and incredible journey from ignorance to awareness and self-acknowledgment. Born in the mountains of Idaho to survivalist Mormon parents, Tara didn’t step foot in a classroom until she was 17. What she knew about the world, she had learned from her father. She spent her days canning food for the end of the world and scrapping metal alongside her father and brothers in their junk yard. She saw her life as proceeding along a steady, certain track. And then, with the help of her mother and brother, she saw a different future. And after that, and entirely on her own, she paved her way. First of all, I’m in awe of Tara’s perseverance. Tara’s mental, physical, and emotional stamina is otherworldly. Some of her trials and tribulations are more than most of us will ever experience in our lifetimes, more than many of us could even imagine experiencing. But other parts of her story are all too familiar and all too much a devastating reminder that cruelty exists in this world and that sometimes the people most guilty of it are the ones we love the most. I felt some of her story deep in my bones, her words knocking the breath out of me for how true they rang. I see myself reading this again and again, if for nothing more than a strong reminder that no one is stuck, that we are all capable of growth and change, and that the power of an education is more than just a degree or the letters at the end of our names, but of the personal, internal freedom it gives us.

KNOW MY NAME by Chanel Miller
I remember exactly where I was when news of the Stanford sexual assault broke nationwide. I was in my final semester of college, surrounded by people who lived privileged, untouchable lives, not unlike Brock Turner. I was angry—so angry—at the news coverage and emphasis on Brock’s actions in a swimming pool rather than on his actions the night of January 18, 2015. ⠀
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I hate that I’m starting this review by mentioning Brock Turner’s name before Chanel’s. But I did this because it tracks exactly how this story unfolded before my eyes, and the rest of the nation’s eyes, in 2015 and 2016. This was all about Brock. And that’s a *insert all the profanities here* shame. From my little town in Rhode Island, I heard all about Brock’s accolades and very little about his actions behind that dumpster. And I knew even less about the “unconscious, intoxicated woman” whom he assaulted.⠀
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With this book, Chanel has reclaimed her narrative. This is HER STORY. Not what the media wants to show us. Not how Brock wants to spin it. Not how strangers writing in the comment sections on articles want to talk about it. This is about Chanel and her brave, courageous, and graceful voice. She writes masterfully, capturing her in-real-time emotions over the years. Putting into words and on paper the harrowing experience rape and sexual assault victims go through. This is a HARD read—all the content warnings—but this is her story. And one I’m so so honored to have read. ⠀
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I wake up today with a little more knowledge and a little less naivety than I had before. I’m honored to know Chanel’s name and her plight. And I won’t ever forget her.

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson
“Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.”

When I was 15, I read a book called NO CHOIRBOY: MURDER, VIOLENCE, AND TEENAGERS ON DEATH ROW. It was told largely in letter format from teenagers on death row before the United States banned death sentences for juveniles. It broke my heart. It made me think about something I had the privilege of never having to consider: what it would be like to lose your life to the state for a crime you were convicted of as a child. What I learned from reading that book is that the boys and girls (and men and women) on death row are not monsters. They aren't all Ted Bundys and Jeffrey Dahmers. Often, they are people who made mistakes, who didn't have legal counsel to help them make a deal, who ended up far worse than they deserved because they were misunderstood, stereotyped, and charged with a crime against the wrong person. That book also inspired me to learn more about the wrongful conviction rate in the U.S. The numbers astounded me. The ways in which the criminal justice system fails continues to astound me.

Years later, I would go to law school and I would be a student-lawyer in an innocence clinic. There, we would get intakes from prisoners across the state, claiming their innocence and pleading us to take a second look at their case. I worked on the case of a man who was originally on death row, but then got a reduced sentence of life without parole after prosecutorial misconduct was uncovered. Still, he was in prison and he would be there for the rest of his life. I read his trial transcript cover to cover, I read all the police notes, witness reports, news articles. I reviewed the DNA evidence, photographs from the crime scene - EVERYTHING. For reasons too long to explain, I am convinced of his innocence, but it's a 25 year old murder case and the barriers are insurmountable. This case outlived my time in law school. I don't know whether the new students are any closer to helping him get his freedom than I was.

I give you that LONG WINDED intro to say that THIS book will be your NO CHOIRBOY. This book will change the entire course of your life. It will alter your perspective of what it means to be on death row. It will change your perspective that wrongful convictions are rare and that all persons in prison deserve to be there for one reason or another. It will challenge you. It will break your heart. It will remove the metaphorical (and also not) plexiglass that separates you--a law abiding citizen--from those serving death sentences who may--spoiler alert--also be law abiding citizens. Above all though, this book will flip your preconceived idea about the death penalty on its head: “The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?”

Regardless of where you fall on this issue, this book is outstanding. There are no words to adequately describe what Bryan Stevenson has done as an attorney for this county. I encourage you to read this book. To relish in its message, and to do what you can to help the Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/

BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah
After finishing IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH, I wanted to learn more about South Africa and apartheid. I must admit, it was something barely covered in my high school and college history classes, and I felt ashamed about that. Several people in the group chat recommended I pick up Trevor Noah’s autobiography, BORN A CRIME: STORIES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDHOOD, so I did. And MAN am I thankful for that recommendation. ⠀
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This story was equal parts funny and eye-opening. Born mixed during apartheid, where it was a crime for a native woman and a European man to have “carnal intercourse,” Trevor Noah was quite literally born a crime. His very existence was evidence of his parents’ violation of the law. ⠀
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Through these stories, Trevor tells us not just what it was like to grow up looking different from everyone else, but about his family’s struggle with poverty and abuse. BUT, as only a comedian could do, he wraps many of these stories in humor. There were moments when I was close to peeing my pants, it was so funny. Like the truly talented comedian he is, he took subjects and situations that are sensitive and seldom discussed, and flipped them on their heads in jest. ⠀
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Above all, however, this book is a love letter to Trevor’s mother, Patricia Noah. Patricia is a badass (excuse my language—there is literally no other word to describe her). She is stubborn and firm in her convictions and her faith, she is funny and smart, she takes no s***, especially from Trevor. I loved Patricia. I loved Trevor’s relationship with her: how they challenged each other, but, at the end of the day, loved each other immensely. ⠀
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I highly recommend this book. Trevor Noah is so much more than the host of The Daily Show. No, this book is everything before that, how he got to where he is. And it’s an incredible journey.